What a wonderful year 2021 was, this may not be the general consensus however for us, safe here in our little community it has been one of fun and laughter.

Admittedly it has had its downsides, we started the year with a lockdown, and we weren’t able to see our families and our friends as much as we’d have liked but we had Facetime and Zoom, which meant that we could stay in touch, who knew we’d be learning such skills at our age? Once restrictions had been lifted, we made the most of every minute and we had a lot of fun creating many new memories.

New Year is not just a time of looking forward, it’s a time for quiet reflection and if the pandemic has taught us anything it is gratitude. You learn to appreciate the smaller things in life and to recognise the joy in things that we have always taken for granted.

We are feeling extremely optimistic about 2022 and wanted to see it in in style. The team hosted a celebration lunch, and it was delicious. We had crackers and wine and beer and continued to party for the rest of the afternoon. I don’t know if it was the optimism or the wine but there was a real buzz in the room, people chatting, singing, and reminiscing over the last couple of years and how strange they have been.

Thank you to everyone at Hazel End, for everything you do for us all year round and especially for this wonderful lunch, we started the year how we mean to go on. Happy New Year to all, let’s make it a good one.